The Detox Market

Hi everyone! Hope you’ve been having a great weekend while enjoying the warmer weather in Toronto.

Sometime last year I began looking for a natural deodorant because I felt that I was ready for the transition. I’ve always struggled with eczema and hypersensitive skin that lead me to developing different allergies and sensitivities over the years. As I got older, I began paying more attention to my health and how my skin reacted to different products. Although I didn’t get a visible allergic reaction to the previous deodorants that I used, I started to learn more about the health implications of parabens, aluminum and other harmful ingredients contained in personal care products. When I began researching for natural deodorants, most of them came with a heavy price tag but I took the plunge and found one that had great reviews to try. I’m not going to lie, it took a bit of time for my body to get used to it at first. It went through a “detox” period that was not pretty. But after giving it a few months, my underarm pores felt like they were unclogging. If you’re looking for one to try, this is a great one! There are more and more natural deodorants out in the market now but this one got my attention because of the dark grey colour from the bamboo charcoal. It’s an ingredient that pulls out all of the toxins but the colour doesn’t transfer so no need to worry about that! I love the two different scents that I tried. The lime mint smells fresh, great for day-to-day and when I’m working out while the cold-pressed rose has a light floral scent that also compliments the perfume that I use when going out.

I want to share with you a skincare product that has improved my life. Literally. Growing up, I’ve always had a lot of challenges with my skin and anyone who deals with any sort of skin troubles know that there are no easy fixes.

My skin struggled with eczema ever since I was young and I still struggle with it now and then as an adult. I don’t want to get too in depth about what eczema is (there’s Google for that) but my skin gets red, irritated, inflamed, itchy and super duper dry. So as you can imagine, I’ve tried a lot of different medicated and non-medicated creams and products in hopes to find different ways to soothe my skin. I know that there isn’t going to be a product that will work miracles but even looking for a product that doesn’t irritate or cause a reaction on my skin is difficult.

On a side note, I’m generally a pretty healthy person – I exercise and eat well but I’m going to kick it up a few notches and be a health nut. This will definitely help improve my overall health but most importantly, my skin. I bought a juicer and will start blogging about my journey to an even healthier lifestyle – stay tuned!

Now, back to MV Organics Skincare! One of my besties who also has hyper sensitive skin told me about this brand about a year ago. She raved about it as one of her favourite Youtubers, Estée Lalonde, highlighted this product in her 2015 Beauty Favorites! Best of the Best! video. Even though these products come with a STEEP price tag, I decided to give it a try! I made my way downtown to visit The Detox Market to check it out.

How I use this product: I mostly use this during dry winter months to give an extra boost to my skin. It’s gentle and gives extra moisture to my super dry skin. I like mixing this with the below moisturizer or use it directly on my skin when needed. I only put one or two drops as it is quite expensive for such a tiny little thing.

Happy Lunar New Year! I wish you all a successful year with good health and many amazing opportunities!

Celebrating Lunar New Year has been a family tradition and it never feels like the beginning of a New Year until I have gone through all of the Chinese traditions with my family. I love spending time with my family, eating lots of traditional snacks and the obvious…getting red pockets! Haha.

There’s usually about a month and a half between January 1st to Lunar New Year and I like taking that time to reflect on lessons learned from the previous year to help me better set an action plan for the upcoming year! As I get older, I spend more and more time taking care of myself and making it a priority to keep my mind and body in check. My main focus this year is to bring more balance into my life. Here’s my action plan for 2016!

Drink Clean

1. Drink More Water
It never hurts to drink more water – my skin will love me for this!

2. Make more smoothies
Love using my Cuisinart SmartStick (currently 25% off at Canadian Tire!) to make smoothies. I always use the typical fruits and greens but this year I want to try ingredients that I haven’t used before like different nuts and oats! If you have a go-to favourite smoothie recipe, please let me know in the comments below!

3. Try a Juice Cleanse
I generally eat pretty healthy and clean, it’s just that the amount I eat is not so healthy haha…so I’d love to try a juice cleanse this year to give my body a detox!